(The Outpost)

WORK – Moving to war in Afghanistan

The battle that raged on 3 October 2009 during the war in Afghanistan, between 53 American soldiers and nearly 400 Taliban.

Adapted from the book The Outpost: An Untold Story Of American Valor by Jake Tapper, a CNN journalist, this near-war drama in the spirit as in the monumental style The Fall of the Black Falcon focuses first on the psychology of his characters before letting his violence explode. Well conducted and firmly staged, Assisted can also rely on its casting (credible) and its tension (palpable). No respite for the brave!

IMAGE – Death is everywhere

Extremely dynamic and ultra-high, this visibly post-production image (cf. stylized digital noise) is a demonstration for those who want to show what HDR technology is really capable of.

Not without defect, however, with the appearance of macroblocks on a handful of planes, this UHD HDR10+ transfer presents a perfectly defined image with very detailed details (how not to feel « crushed » by the Afghan mountains overlooking the American camp?) which no longer suffers from the smoothing (DNR filter) or the colour banding of its HD counterpart.

Golden yellow and very contrasting where it was only grey and flat on the Blu-ray, the photograph now sticks much better with the place of action, not to mention the night scenes which are thus easier to grasp.

SON – Falling under bullets

A DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack with phenomenal spatial consciousness that blows a wind of relentless destruction during the final assault.

So yes, a Dolby Atmos mixing would certainly have been a real plus (notably for Taliban height positioning and helicopter overflights), but immersion is already so convincing that its absence is easier to accept.

With excellent clarity, it diffuses completely enveloping environmental atmospheres (the surroundings are constantly coming to life), robust pyrotechnic effects coupled with powerful basses (explosions and heavy machine guns hurt) and clear dialogues even when fighting on the ground rages.

CONCLUSION – Massacre at Fort Alamo

Ready to go to war, this 4K Ultra HD is by far the best choice to take advantage of this spectacular military failure filmed as close as possible to death.